Al Gore back at work on new book
By: Bob King
March 15, 2011 02:39 PM EST

Al Gore is heading back to your bookshelf in 2012.

The Nobel-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning author of “Earth in the Balance” and “An Inconvenient Truth” — also known in some circles as the popular-vote winner in the 2000 presidential election — is writing an as-yet-untitled book for Random House about “the political, social and economic forces that are shaping what America and the world will become in ensuing decades,” the publishing house announced Tuesday.

In a statement, the former U.S. vice president said he hopes “to help start a conversation about the large-scale drivers of change that are defining and shaping our future — from the rapid development and integration of radically new technologies to the planet-changing impact of the climate crisis, to poverty, globalization and the democratization of knowledge accompanying the emergence of a ubiquitous Internet linking ever more intelligent devices."

Gore's book is his first since a spate of unpleasant news about his personal life last year, including his separation from Tipper and an investigation into allegations that he had assaulted a masseuse in a Portland, Ore., hotel room in 2006. (Prosecutors cleared Gore in July.)

His most recent book is 2009’s “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis."

Gore’s new book marks the first acquisition for former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham since he joined Random House as an executive vice president.

Correction: A previous version of this article misrepresented Al Gore’s marital status. He and his wife are separated.